Review of MSC Poesia to Eastern Med - April 15th to 22nd, 2017

I am just back from a week on the MSC Poesia and thought I would share some highlights of the week’s activities and port excursions. We cruised round trip out of Venice to the Eastern Mediterranean. Keep in mind when you read my comments that my comparisons to other cruises are based on this being my 30th cruise and have been on many of the other major cruise lines. This was my first MSC cruise.

Ship comments (in no particular order):

1) The ship is beautifully decorated. All common areas were clean and well maintained.

2) The service and friendliness of the staff onboard were fantastic. We did find that the dining room service for the “My Choice Dining” tended to be a bit slower than having an assigned dining time.

3) Unlike the other cruises we have been on, the late seating for dinner is 9:00pm!

4) Unfortunately, the food onboard was not good at all. We tried both dining rooms and the buffet for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The food was never hot and was just not up to par with any of the other cruises we have been on.

5) The boarding process at each port stop is quite slow. Some days there was only one gangway with one security line opened. Allow enough time to get back on board!

6) Although there is a lot of live music at night in just about every lounge, there are too many dance lessons by the cruise staff that interfered too long with the singers/musicians performing.

7) The shows in the main theater were just okay.

8) There are MANY common drinks/beers/wines that are listed on the bar menus that are NOT part of the beverage packages.

Excursions (all were done when we got into each port independent of the cruise line):

I should point out that every stop on this cruise is in cities that have many streets and alleyways filled with shops/restaurants/cafes/etc. Some are pedestrian only, while some allow cars and mopeds. At no time in any of the cities did we feel the least bit unsafe,and we covered as much area as possible at each stop! Most of the fun was wandering through the cities with no map or agenda! All amounts referenced below are in Euros.

1) Venice – We flew in a day and night early to spend time here. We stayed at the Il Moro Di Venezia Hotel which is a short walk from the Piazzale Roma. That is the location where the airport buses and taxis will drop you off downtown. After checking in, we took the ACTV #1 Vaporetto for $7.50 through the Grand Canal from the hotel to St. Mark's Square. We then leisurely walked back shopping and stopping in a couple cafes for drinks. The next day we walked back to the Piazzale Roma and took the People Mover for$1.50 to the cruise terminal. Note that you will still have quite a walk to the ship after you get off the People Mover. However, at the end of the week when you get off the ship, there will be plenty of taxis waiting to take you to the airport. The fee is $50 per taxi even for the larger minivans.

2) Bari – Of all the stops on the cruise, this seemed to be everyone’s least favorite that I talked to. However, I enjoyed it.We actually walked into town and back (about 20-25 minutes each way). Once in town, do not miss going down by the water to the seafood market where the local fishermen bring their daily catches in. There is a bar at the end of the market that sells $1 beers while you stroll the market and talk to the locals.

3) Katakolon – Once off the ship, look for the light blue building toward the right. They offer $10 round trips to Olympia. Once in Olympia, the entrance fee into the Olympics site is $12 each. You walk around at your own pace, and all the buildings have markers that explain what they are. The museum is also included in your ticket price. It takes about 30 minutes to get there, and they allow you two hours to spend at the site. We found that to be the perfect amount of time. Once back in port, you will have time to shop in Katakolon, grab a beer, or just walk the streets before boarding the ship.

4) Mykonos – The ship sells transfers into the city for $7 via boat or $10 via bus round trip. It did appear that it was too far to walk. The entire town is white buildings. We did the same walking around as the last two stops and then headed to the beach. The bus stop for the beaches is not far from the windmills and costs $1.80 each way. The bus schedule there and back is posted on a board. You pay the driver when you get on board. We went to Paradise Beach, and I would recommend it. They have a beautiful beach area, no charge for lounge chairs, and offer a restaurant, bar and smoothie store. Once back in Mykonos, we stopped at a local restaurant for a Gyro, calamari, and drinks along the water looking over at our ship. It was the best meal we had all week!

5) Athens - We opted for the Hop On Hop Off bus. They are located as soon as you walk out of the port area. The cost is $16 each (keep your receipt from the bus in Katakolon and you get $1 off each). Our first stop was the Acropolis. Tickets to get into the site are $20 each. It is quite a walk to the top, but so worth it when you get there. We got back on the bus for one more stop, and that was the Temple of Zeus and the Plaka area. This is the oldest section of Athens and has more shops/restaurants/cafes/etc. We spent a few hours there, and by then, it was time to get back on the bus and head back to the ship. The HOHO bus full route around Athens takes about 90 minutes, but there is just not enough time to see everything unless you just want to ride the route without getting off the bus. Traffic gets pretty busy by the middle of the afternoon.

6) Corfu – This stop was to have been in Sarande, Albania, but the weather was too bad to tender in. So, we docked in Corfu instead. It was a $10 taxi ride each way into town for four people. We spent a few hours walking around town and stopped in a café for drinks before heading back to the ship.

7) Dubrovnik – This was a tender port, and the advantage was that the tender dropped us off right at the entrance to the walled city. We walked the city walls. Tickets were $22 each, but you must pay in Kuna. There is an exchange store a few doors down from the entrance to the walls. The entire trip around the walls took a little more than an hour at a leisurely pace. There are great photo opportunities along the way. We then wandered the streets shopping, looking around the open market in one of the squares, and stopping in a couple cafes for drinks.

Hope this review helps in some way with your planning. Enjoy your travels!

Thank you so much, I'll be on MSC Poesia end of May, your tips for Katakolon and Mykonos and Dubrovnik are particularly helpful!

Thank you so much very helpful! I'll be on the this cruise July 1st! I read a lot about the food not being great is there anything that really stood out as being good to try? How was your stateroom? This is the first MSC cruise for us so I am a little nervous with all of the iffy reviews, but really excited for all of the ports

Unfortunately, nothing really stood out as far as the food. I wish I could say any of it was memorable. Stay excited about the itinerary/ports. That is the whole reason we took this trip. The stops are all absolutely incredible! Stateroom and room steward were great. We had an aft balcony. Hope you have a great time!

Thanks so much. I clicked on this sort of randomly since I will be on a different cruise line, but the port information was so helpful.

Unfortunately, nothing really stood out as far as the food. I wish I could say any of it was memorable. Stay excited about the itinerary/ports. That is the whole reason we took this trip. The stops are all absolutely incredible! Stateroom and room steward were great. We had an aft balcony. Hope you have a great time!

We were on Poesia in the Caribbean in January and agree with you about the food ☹️. Absolutely loved everything else about the ship which was the cleanest and best maintained we have been on. We were status matched to Black and enjoyed all the perks that brought. It was our first MSC cruise and would certainly do another but on a bigger ship with perhaps more alternative dining options - Sushi does not do it for us 😖

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I'm just back from sailing in MSC Poesia on this same itinerary. Ask me anything you like? I will have a detailed trip report in a few days, and I have all the dailies too.

Thanks for review. Going June 3rd. Do you know if hoho stopped at Mars Hill.

I'm just back from sailing in MSC Poesia on this same itinerary. Ask me anything you like? I will have a detailed trip report in a few days, and I have all the dailies too.

Leaving Saturday with family of 8. 4 adults 2 teens 2 children. Suggestions ??

I don't know about the Athens HOHO stopping at Mars Hill - can you find the HOHO website and check the route?

My children didn't go to the kids club but I think they were put off by the multiple languages and then regretted it when they saw the party dinners they had in the buffet each night!

My children will tell you their favourite thing about the cruise was not any of the ports, but swimming (2 pools, 4 hot tubs) and the gelato from the Mojito Bar.

One more thing - the kids menu in the MDR is awful, aimed at very small children , so unless your teens and children can order off the main menu each night (depends on their palates), you will find eating in the buffet easier. Or are the teens old enough to take the children to the buffet for a meal, while the adults eat in the MDR?

Thank you for your review it was helpful

In Athens is it easy when leaving The Acropolis to walk through the Plaka to Syntagma Square

in Katakolon, do we need need to pre book the tours